For the Fatherless on Father’s Day
Is the holiday worth celebrating for those of us whose dads have passed on?
June isn’t an easy month for me.
Even though there’s plenty to celebrate with Pride festivities going on, the second half of the month packs a 1–2 punch: Father’s Day; and, the day I lost my dad.
My dad was 64 when he passed away in 2020. It was his first year in retirement — he’d spent his entire adult life working and didn’t get to enjoy a full year of time off. It still feels like he got cheated from enjoying more time with my mom.
My father’s very first job was working as a cart boy at Piggly Wiggly. I unintentionally followed his lead 40 years later when I accepted the very same position at Kroger. Unlike my dad, I only lasted a month before ditching the heat for a job with guaranteed AC.
One other differentiating factor between us that’s worth noting: Dad’s haircut in his teens made him look like the fifth Beatle, which my siblings and I always teased him about. He may not have been able to ever sub in as McCartney, but pre-mustache Harrison and Pops could’ve swapped positions and nobody would’ve been the wiser.
